History Camp Pioneer Valley

The Pioneer Valley History Network proudly announces “History Camp Pioneer Valley” to be held onSaturday, July 30, 2016 at the Kittredge Center at Holyoke Community College.  This will be a gathering of adult history enthusiasts, for a day of learning and sharing.

History Camp is the un-conference dedicated to all things history.  Everyone is welcome to attend, but registration is required, and anyone can present, assuming we have a time slot open. More information on History Camp, including photos, quotes, and the profile of attendees from earlier History Camps, is here.

This first History Camp Pioneer Valley will have no Conference Fee! However, participants will be encouraged at the event to make a voluntary contribution to cover the cost. The goal with History Camp is to break even – there are no paid staff, no paid speakers, and no one will profit. We anticipate the “break even” point for History Camp Pioneer Valley to be $15 – $30 per person, depending upon turnout.

There will also be plenty of opportunities for networking and an exhibit area for selling books and other history-related products.

The Pioneer Valley History Network gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the Mary Lyon Foundation in the promotion of History Camp Pioneer Valley.

For more information, contact Cliff.

 

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Sessions as of 12 April 2016

 

Session #1: 9:55 - 10:40 a.m.

Talking About a Revolution: Why Civics & Local History Matter

Presenter: Bill Hosley

Description: Is History still relevant? Absolutely and here's why. Join me for a hog-stomping affirmation of the power of place & past. Local knowledge inspires civic attachment. Civic attachment inspires citizenship and neighborliness. Neighborliness is the key to healthy, happy & prosperous communities. Therefore - local knowledge & local history are indispensable!

 

The City that William Pynchon Built

Presenter: Dave Robison

Description: From landing on the banks of the "Great River" to "Tower Square" attendees will meet the founders, the growth of a colonial plantation to a city and the historical people and events that influenced its growth.

 

The Greate Falls Dams and Canals of Holyoke

Presenter: Leo Labonte

Description: Harnessing the water of the Connecticut River in the 18th, 19th & 20th centuries.

 

Slavery in the Connecticut River Valley  --  Our Unsung Heroes, Those Who Resisted

Presenter: Robert H. Romer

Description: An overview of slavery in the Connecticut River Valley in colonial times, with emphasis on instances of resistance.

 

Session #2: 10:45 - 11:30 a.m.

A History of Pie in New England

Presenter: Robert Cox

Description: Pie has been part of the New England culinary landscape since colonial times. In 20 minutes or less, we will ask why it is that pie has been so well favored and what this says about our regional cultures.

 

Art in the Face of Mortality: A Sampling of Gravestone Art in the Connecticut Valley and Beyond

Presenter: Al McKee

Description: Presenter will give a slideshow of fantastic gravestones from the Connecticut River Valley and New England.

 

1912: Roosevelt, Wilson & the Election that Changed America

Presenter: Donald Blais. Jr.

Description: An overview of the election of 1912 beginning with the race between Roosevelt and Taft for the GOP nomination, ending with the election of Wilson.

 

The Titanic Railroad and New England's Great Railroad War

Presenter: Larry Lowenthal

Description: By 1910 the New Haven Railroad, under President Charles S. Mellen and backed by J.P. Morgan finances, seemed to have achieved a transportation monopoly in New England. An unexpected challenge by the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada set off the last of New England's great railroad wars.

 



Session #3: 1:00 - 1:45 p.m.

At Sword’s Point: A Labor History of Greenfield

Presenter: Tom Goldscheider

Description: Greenfield was the Tap and Die capital of the world and its workers were paid the highest wages in the industrialized world. These same workers organized under the nation's most radical, militant and democratically-run union throughout the Cold War era. They weathered the McCarthy witch-hunt but ultimately fell victim to the forces of globalization towards the end of the century - but not without putting up a fight.

 

Freedom Stories of the Pioneer Valley

Presenter: Cliff McCarthy

Description: This presentation will tell the stories of several African Americans who lived in the Pioneer Valley and took action -- whether successful or unsuccessful -- to secure their freedom or the freedom of others.

 

Pottery History of the Pioneer Valley

Presenter: Rick Hamelin

Description: Pottery Wheel Demonstration and discussion of highlights concerning the use of clay found in the Pioneer Valley for pottery making, wool processing, brick making.

 

Preserving Stories in Stone

Presenter: Ta Mara Conde

Description: There is a cemetery in every town and whether it is a colonial burial ground from the beginning of the country or the modern memorial garden on the outskirts of the city; it holds the history of the area. It tells the story of the people, their attitudes towards death, the industries in which they worked and even the geology of the local landscape. These snapshots in time, sometimes the only green space in a city are at danger of decay and neglect, vandalism or loss from progress and development.

 

Session #4: 1:50 - 2:35 p.m.

Introducing the Commonwealth History Catablog

Presenter: Robert S. Cox

Description: The Commonwealth History Catablog is an easy-to-maintain, online, Wordpress-driven, database that will include collection information from the hundreds of historical museums and archives in Massachusetts.  It will allow small museums and archives to “get in the game” by posting as much, or as little, information about their facility and collections as they choose. The project is being developed at UMass/Amherst in the Special Collections & University Archives.

 

Signature Quilts: Stories They Tell

Presenter: Jane Crutchfield

Description: What exactly is a signature quilt? Stories of research of four signature quilts dating from 1849 - 2002. The presenter will have several examples on hand to view.

 

One Cotton Sock, Unfinished or How Probate Files Can Enrich Your Research

Presenter: Sara E. Campbell

Description: When a property owner died in the prime of life without a will, a detailed estate inventory would be taken to assure that all heirs in law received equal portions. Close reading of the inventory can paint a picture of how the family lived. We will explore two inventories, taken in 1805 and in 1869 in context with the families they represent. Stretch your 19th century vocabulary and find out what was in the barn, as well as the house. Sara Campbell is a local engineer and historian who can't resist following trails in historic documents.

 

How the British Empire Lost New England Seven Months Before the War

Presenter: J. L. Bell

Description: Though the Revolutionary War started in April 1775, New England had actually slipped out of the British government's control months earlier, with the resistance beginning in western Massachusetts. This talk analyzes what prompted New England farmers to turn out by the thousands to change their government and how that confrontation came to a head on September 2, 1774.

 

Session #5: 2:40 - 3:25 p.m.

“Crystal Products of the Frost King:” Ice Harvesting & the Natural Ice Industry in New England

Presenter: Dennis D. Picard

Description: The commercial harvesting of ice from New England’s ponds and lakes for export began in the first decade of the 19th century. By the end of that century ice harvesting was the 9th largest industry in the United States employing tens of thousands of workers in New England alone and producing hundreds of thousands of tons of block ice annually.

 

Sarah’s Garden: A Sketch of Sarah Pierpont Edwards
Presenter: Elise Bernier-Feeley
Description: This talk is about Sarah Pierpont Edwards and her interest in materia medica. So much is known about Jonathan Edwards that Mrs. Edwards often gets eclipsed. Basically, I recreate her herb garden and weave in a biographical sketch of her as well. I speak a bit about her lineage in the talk, but it's not a genealogy talk, per se. I will do a PowerPoint slideshow with pictures of the herbs and flowers she routinely used as well as a hypothetical plan of her garden's design based on my research.

 

Early Modern England and the Colonization of New England

Presenter: Liz Loveland

Description: How did Henry VIII's dismantling of the English Catholic Church help the rise of nouveau riche families with puritan sympathies and simultaneously lead to the growth of the desperately poor? Why did a small piece of clothing worn by Church of England clergy cause so much controversy? What strategies did women use to try to protect themselves and their children in a men-dominated society? Join me as we look at early modern England and and the way forces there helped spur the colonization of New England.

 

Victorian Springfield: Industry and Opulence in a New England City

Presenter: Guy McLain

Description: During the Victorian era Springfield was a thriving industrial city and a transportation crossroads. It was also a center of innovation where some of the most important industrial developments of the era originated. The city also became a center of wealth and culture. This presentation will examine the city's growth and development at this time and place it in the context of the country as a whole.